Menu
  • Abous us
  • Search database
  • Resources
  • Donate
  • Faq

Grauerholz Lawrence Emil "Larry," Sr.

Name:
Lawrence Emil "Larry," Sr. Grauerholz
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Serial Number:
O-811628
Unit:
337th Bomber Squadron, 96th Bomber Group, Heavy
Date of Death:
2014-05-16
State:
Kansas
Cemetery:
Plot:
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Comments:

Lawrence Emil “Larry” Grauerholz Sr. was born on September 3, 1916, in Smith County, Kansas, to John Grauerholz and Helen Grauerholz. He was married to Mary Ruth Luckett Grauerholz. Larry graduated in journalism from Kansas State University in 1939 and the Army Air Corps Navigation School in 1943.

Larry served in the 337th Bomber Squadron, 96th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator on the B-17 #42-31164 'Lucky Lady' during World War II.

On January 5, 1944, his crew took off from Station 138 airfield in Snetterton Heath, England, for a mission to bomb the Bordeaux-Mérignac airfield in France. Shot down by flak at around 11:00 AM, they evacuated their plane by parachute. Their aircraft crashed in the Hourtin Lake, District of Lesparre-Médoc, France. Of the crew, three members were captured by the Germans and taken as prisoners, 6 evaded the capture, and one casualty in the incident. 2Lt Grauerholz was one of the evadees. He returned to the UK on March 3, 1944.

His newspaper career began when he and Ruth owned and operated small newspapers in Tennessee, Arkansas, and then Texas. They were publishers of the Graham News in Graham, Texas, for 14 years. When he retired as the editorial page editor of the Wichita Falls Times & Record News in 1982, Charles Ward knighted him the "Sage of the Times."

Larry died on May 16, 2014, at the age of 97. His current burial place is unknown.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net